Obamacare: ‘Big Insurance Rate Hikes Coming’ In 2018

‘Many ACA Customers Will Pay More For Coverage’

“[H]ealth policy experts agree the coming year could be rough for remaining insurers and even rougher on consumers. Already Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City has announced it will not offer plans on the exchange, leaving more than two dozen counties in the region without an insurer.” (“Big Insurance Rate Hikes Coming - And They May Get Bigger,” Houston Chronicle, 6/01/2017)

• “‘Many ACA customers will pay more for coverage that is already a large portion of their household income,’ said Brian Tajlili, Blue Cross’s director of actuarial and pricing services.” (“BCBS Wants 22.9% Rate Hike On ACA Plans In 2018,” The [Charlotte] News & Observer, 5/25/2017)

“Around the country, some insurers have filed for even larger rate increases, including 52 percent in Maryland by CareFirst and 38 percent in Virginia by Anthem, according to The Washington Post.” (“BCBS Wants 22.9% Rate Hike On ACA Plans In 2018,” The [Charlotte] News & Observer, 5/25/2017)

MAINE: ‘Health Insurers In Maine Are Again Aiming To Increase Rates For Obamacare Plans,’ With One ‘Seeking An Unprecedented 40 Percent Hike’

“Health insurers in Maine are again aiming to increase rates for Obamacare plans, with one company seeking an unprecedented 40 percent hike on average in 2018. Insurers had until Friday to file their proposed rates for next year. The higher monthly premiums, if approved by insurance regulators, would affect about 80,000 Maine residents who buy coverage under Obamacare.” (“Obamacare Premiums Are About To Get More Expensive In Maine,” Bangor Daily News, 6/06/2017)

• “Harvard Pilgrim seeks the largest rate hike by far, with plans to raise monthly premiums by 39.7 percent. That’s easily the biggest yearly increase any Obamacare insurer has pursued in Maine, though premium hikes are nothing new. If the state insurance bureau approves it, the average Harvard Pilgrim customer would see their monthly premium jump from $468.65 a month to $654.78…. About 21,000 Harvard Pilgrim customers would be affected by the rate increase …” (“Obamacare Premiums Are About To Get More Expensive In Maine,” Bangor Daily News, 6/06/2017)

• “Anthem proposed raising monthly premiums by 21.2 percent on average…. About 28,000 Anthem customers would be affected.” (“Obamacare Premiums Are About To Get More Expensive In Maine,” Bangor Daily News, 6/06/2017)

• “The co-op insurer in Maine is Community Health Options, which was initially hailed as a success but has since struggled financially…. CHO, based in Lewiston, wants to raise rates by 19.6 percent, according to its filing. The minimum increase would be 15 percent, though some customers would face a 25.9 percent hike. Roughly 33,000 CHO customers would be affected.” (“Obamacare Premiums Are About To Get More Expensive In Maine,” Bangor Daily News, 6/06/2017)

NEW HAMPSHIRE: ‘The Second-Largest Insurer In The New Hampshire Obamacare Market’ Seeks ‘Average Rate Hikes Of 30 Percent’

“The second-largest insurer in the New Hampshire Obamacare market said his company has requested average rate hikes of 30 percent next year, blaming the increase on two provisions of the health care law — Medicaid expansion and federally imposed risk adjustments. Minuteman Health Chief Executive Officer Tom Policelli disclosed the preliminary proposal in a newspaper interview on Monday.” (“NH Insurer Seeks 30% Rate Hike,” New Hampshire Union Leader, 6/05/2017)

• “The increase will fall most heavily upon the 20,000-plus Exchange customers who are not subsidized. ‘This is a shadow tax on a very small population, and will likely make individual coverage too expensive for many,’ reads a statement in a PowerPoint presentation that Minuteman gave last Wednesday in a symposium on Medicaid. (“NH Insurer Seeks 30% Rate Hike,” New Hampshire Union Leader, 6/05/2017)

NORTH CAROLINA: State’s ‘Largest Health Insurer Is Proposing A 22.9 Percent Rate Increase’

“Blue Cross and Blue Shield, [North Carolina’s] largest health insurer, is proposing a 22.9 percent rate increase on Affordable Care Act plans in 2018, in what will be the fifth year of the federal health insurance mandate. Steep rate increases have been a consistent feature of Blue Cross’s ACA coverage in North Carolina, and Thursday’s announcement follows a 24.3 percent rate increase this year and a 32.5 percent increase in 2016.” (“BCBS Wants 22.9% Rate Hike On ACA Plans In 2018,” The [Charlotte] News & Observer, 5/25/2017)

• “The company’s ACA rates have more than doubled since the law made health insurance mandatory for most Americans in 2014.” (“BCBS Wants 22.9% Rate Hike On ACA Plans In 2018,” The [Charlotte] News & Observer, 5/25/2017)

• “Cigna, which offers ACA plans in five counties in the Triangle, requested a 31.9 percent average rate increase Thursday.” (“BCBS Wants 22.9% Rate Hike On ACA Plans In 2018,” The [Charlotte] News & Observer, 5/25/2017)

“By contrast, eight insurers who sell policies directly to individuals in North Carolina – but do not sell federally subsidized ACA policies – requested much smaller rate increases, mostly in the single digits … according to the N.C. Department of Insurance.” (“BCBS Wants 22.9% Rate Hike On ACA Plans In 2018,” The [Charlotte] News & Observer, 5/25/2017)

TEXAS: ‘A Houston-Area Insurer Has Asked For A 16 Percent Average Rate Hike … And Warned It Might Need Much More’

“Community Health Choice, a Houston-area insurer, has asked for a 16 percent average rate hike for its 2018 Affordable Care Act exchange plans and warned it might need much more.” (“Big Insurance Rate Hikes Coming - And They May Get Bigger,” Houston Chronicle, 6/01/2017)

• “Community Health Choice, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas and Molina Healthcare were the only three insurers to offer plans in the Houston area on this year's exchange, down from seven insurance companies in 2016. Major insurers Aetna, Humana and Cigna previously pulled out of the exchange in Houston.” (“Big Insurance Rate Hikes Coming - And They May Get Bigger,” Houston Chronicle, 6/01/2017)

PENNSYLVANIA: ‘Government Marketplace Health Insurance Premiums In Pennsylvania Will Rise An Average 8.8 Percent For Individuals’

“Government marketplace health insurance premiums in Pennsylvania will rise an average 8.8 percent for individuals and 6.6 percent for small group plans in 2018 under rate proposals filed with the state Insurance Department.” (“Health Insurance Rates For ACA Plans To Rise Almost 9 Percent In Pennsylvania,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6/01/2017)